What Price Freedom ?
by Wednesdaycried
Summary: Is that really Aveline Boswell standing on a street corner? What on earth is she doing there? A one-shot Aveline piece, set early on maybe season 1 or 2. There is some language and implied sexual activity, but appearnces can be deceptive.


**What Price Freedom?**

Disclaimer - I don't own Bread

Aveline adjusted her skirt and fiddled with her whistle as she waited for the car that she was sure would change her life. She wondered if this was a bad idea after all. She'd only wanted a little freedom, a little independence and this seemed a good way to do it but now that she was actually standing here on the street corner she began to get cold feet. She hadn't told her mam or her brothers, they'd have been furious and stopped her from going. She'd thought about telling Julie, she had a feeling she might understand, but they'd never been that close, and so here she was on a street corner in a part of the city she didn't venture very often waiting for a strange man and no-one knew where she was. She shivered at the thought and regretted being so rash.

It wasn't that she didn't appreciate what her family did for her, in some ways she was lucky, she only had to ask and her brothers would get her anything she wanted and if she had a problem they would sort it out for her, but she couldn't help feeling that it came at a price. None of her friends had to wear a whistle, two of them were married and one of them even had a baby. There was no chance of that happening to her, she thought, not that she wanted it, after all a top model can't have a family and children, but sometimes she fantasised about being normal.

"Fat chance of that happening with the Merseyside Mafia for brothers" she thought " a man only has to say 'good morning' to me and they're pounced upon by 4 young men calling for their blood. What on earth would they do if they knew a strange man had invited me into a car."

She caught a glance at herself in a shop window and smiled at her reflection. She'd put on her shortest skirt and highest shoes, she'd wanted to look her best as she took her first steps to freedom and she was happy with what she saw, but she frowned when she spotted two neighbours on the other side of the street looking at her.

"One of the perils of being a model is not being able to blend into the crowd. They're bound to tell me mam that I was standing on a street corner. I could say I was on a modeling job, or I could say they were lying, but I was brought up to be honest, well honest to the family and cunning to the bastards out there."

She didn't have much time to ponder on this when a car pulled up.

"This is it, my ride with destiny." she thought as straightened her skirt again.

The window wound down and a friendly looking middle-aged person spoke. "Are you Miss Boswell?"

"Yes" Aveline answered suspiciously as this wasn't what she had bargain for when she had made the decision to do this.

"I'm Mrs Yates."

"But you're a woman" replied Aveline staring at the rather plain looking lady in front of her.

"Yes. We do have women driving instructors these days."

"Don't your family mind? That you do this job?"

"Why should they? It's the 1980s you know, besides, it's my husband's company and I'll tell you a secret, women are much better drivers than men."

Aveline got into the car, relieved that she could now honestly say she never got into a car with a strange man. Surely even Joey couldn't get angry at her for getting into a car with a middle-aged, married, non-tarty woman. It would just be like getting into a car with mam. She couldn't wait to get her license and show her brothers she can use her brain as well as her body. If Billy could learn to drive, surely she could too.

"Er, about those shoes, Miss Boswell."said Mrs Yates eyeing the six inch heels with a grimace.

"Do you like them? Dead glamorous aren't they? I'm a model you know."

"Very nice, but they're not really suitable for driving. If you're serious about learning to drive, you'll have to get some flats."

"Flats." shrieked Aveline. "I don't wear flats. I'm a model aren't I and models have to look good and looking good means wearing heels" with that she stormed out of the car and tottered down the road.

She was prepared to make some sacrifices for her independence but Aveline Boswell in flat shoes? Never in a million years.


End file.
